Reports on a study of 702 Illinois secondary schools' policies and on how well those policies are described in student handbooks. The findings show that local schools have good intentions about informing students and parents, but they also suggest that many policies may be inadequately reported. Includes tables and references. (MD)

Since the 1990s, truancy has become administrators' most persistent problem. This article examines student absenteeism trends, characteristics of nonattenders, and current attendance policies. While schools can encourage attendance, final responsibility rests with students and parents. Includes four references. (MLH)

Although school tragedies are not totally preventable, they will be far more preventable if schools develop a written school safety plan. Components should include legally mandated safety drills, regularly scheduled school safety audits and evaluations, a student apparel policy, a schoolwide discipline plan, and a closed campus. (MLH)

In a case involving a principal terminated after deciding to home-school his children, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal district's $300,000 settlement favoring plaintiff. School employees desiring to enroll their children in nonpublic school settings should consider whether their district has a school patronage policy requiring…

Recently, each department at Green Mountain Union High School (Chester, Vermont) was asked to update its curriculum and research current theories on the use of homework through national organizations. Teachers in each department then prepared current practice statements and developed policy statements concerning homework's value. (MLH)

Health and medical researchers have conclusively proven that smoking and secondhand smoke constitute a major health danger. Students get mixed messages when school staff smoke or use other tobacco products on campus. This article advocates a total ban on tobacco use in school settings, offers policymaking guidelines, summarizes state legislation,…

Truancy can be traced to four causes: an unsupportive school environment, lack of community support, chaotic family life, and personal deficits. School-based responses feature either academic incentives for good attendance, administrative consequences for nonattendance, academic consequences for nonattendance, or supportive services. Counseling…

A new attendance policy is outlined that is credited with significantly reducing unauthorized absences at Hauppauge High School in New York. (Author/MLF)

By their silence and failure to combat peer sexual harassment, schools are serving as training grounds for domestic violence. Schools must establish a districtwide program of student peer sexual harassment prevention and intervention comprised of a school policy, an environmental survey of the problem, a grievance procedure, a training component,…

To reduce the psychological and economic costs of downsizing, school administrators need planning and procedural guidelines. Administrators should have clear reduction-in-force policies, performance standards, employee development guidelines, and alternatives to layoffs. In the layoff mode, administrators should give careful consideration to those…

In "Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier," the Supreme Court upheld public secondary school officials' right to control the content of a school-sponsored, curriculum-based newspaper so long as their decision is "reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns." This article examines education officials' responses to…

Examines the codes of ethics of three major education associations (the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Education Association, and the American Association of School Administrators) and their usefulness in developing a school-specific code. The codes' language reveals how these organizations think about students,…

Clear guidelines for the operation of student publications are absolutely necessary. Some elements to be considered in establishing such guidelines are suggested. (Author/MLF)

The link that homework provides between school and community can become more productive if teachers and administrators ensure that the school homework is clear, meaningful, varied, and regularly assigned. (Author/TE)

Teachers may be required to perform extra-duty assignments if they are professional in nature, not unduly time-consuming, and related to their specialty areas--even in the absence of policy statements. Teachers can be expected to take over study halls, attend parent-teacher association meetings, and supervise field trips, detention programs, and…